Research in rheumatology: a six-month review of selected medical journals

Abstract

Research in rheumatology has dramatically increased in the past decades, and researchers can choose among over 20,000 journals to publish their findings. The purpose of this study was to examine the current extent and impact of rheumatological research on the medical literature. The tables of contents of 1,158 biomedical journals were analyzed during a 6-month period and those with a rheumatology-related title were selected. In total, 2,549 articles from 406 journals were related to rheumatology. The 10 rheumatology journals selected for the analysis contained 769 articles (30% of the total); thus, over two-thirds of the information on rheumatology topics was provided by non-rheumatology journals. Over 65 different journals included information about rheumatoid and systemic lupus erythematosus. It is concluded that research in rheumatology is extensive and widespread. Since articles in rheumatology are scattered over a variety of journals, it is suggested that the periodic publication of a rheumatology reference index may assist rheumatologists in updating information from various sources.